Dial



1,475,800 Nov. 27,1923. L P. CREASY DIAL Filed Nov. 25 1922 L aerj? Crecagy lNVENTOR WCTNESS: ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 27, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFF-ICE.

DIAL.

Application tiled November 25, 1922. Serial No. 603,284.

To all lwtom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER P. CREAsY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Catawissa, in the county of Columbia and 'State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dials, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a time piece with means whereby the time of day can be accurately determined without requiring the observation of the positions of the hour and minute hands with respect to the dial.

A further object is to produce a time piece having on the tace thereof an opening to the rear of which there are arranged disks, one of which having inscribed thereon figures, indicating the hours from l to 12, and the other having inscribed thereon figures indicating the number of minutes in an hour, the last mentioned disk being rotated by the minute hand of the time piece, the first mentioned disk being spring influenced for turning in one direction, but normally locked from such turning, and such locking means being momentarily released by contact with the minute hand when the latter has made a complete revolution around the dial of the time piece, and whereby the exact time of day may be observed by the figures on the disks arranged opposite the opening.

The foregoing, and other objects which will present themselves as the nature of the invention is better understood, may be attained by a construction, combination and operative association of parts such as is disclosed by the drawing which accompanies and which forms part of this application.

In the drawing:-

Figure l is a face view of a time piece in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of. the es- 'ca ement lever.

igure 5 is a face View of thel minute hand and the disk carried thereby. A

The time piece is of the ordinary construction, in which a train of spring wound ears turn a shaft l on which isfmou'nte 4the minute hand and the sleeve that carries the hour hand.

In the present instance, the minute hand 2 is preferably formed on the periphery oi a disk 3, the said disk having its outer face peripherally divided into sixty divisions, one of which bearing no character or the character O, the others being successively numbered from l to 59, and these divisions indicate the number of minutes in an hour. The disk 3 is mounted directly to the rear oi'. the face 4 of the time piece, the face 4 being arranged to the rear of the glass or other transparent protective disk or crystal 5 which is peripherally supported in the usual bezel 6. The iace plate 4 is provided with an opening 7 through which one ot the numerals on the disk 3 may he seen. The face 4 is preferably constructed of three sections, the inner and outer sections being of nonjtransparent material., the intermediate section, however, being of transparent material and indicated by the numeral 8. The transparent portion 8 of the face 4 provides a means whereby the minute hand 2, as well as the hour hand 9 may be readily seen therethrough so that their positions with respect to the hour and minute divisions on the face 4 may be observed.

To the rear of the disk 3 there is freely mounted on the shaft l a second and larger disk 10. This disk has its outer face at a suitable distance inward of its periphery provided with spaced numerals circumferentially arranged, and numbered from l to 127 consecutively, indicating hours. For distinction, the'disk 3 will hereinafter be referred to as the minute disk, and the disk 10 as the hour disk. The minute disk is of a size whereby the numerals 11, indicating the hours on the hour disk l0 will be disposed directly outward from the periphery of the said minute disk, and the numerals l1 as well as the numerals 12 on the minute disk are observable through the opening, 7 in the face 4 of the time piece. l.'

The hour disk 10 is peripherally provided with teeth 13 equal in numbers and disposed directl opposite the numerals 11 on the said hour` isk, and the tooth- 13 arranged in -a line with the numerals l2 on thevface 4'of the time piece is normally engaged by one loo of the toothed ends 14 on an escapement lever 15 which is pivotally supported as at 1b in the case. The escapement lever 15 is in'iuenced by a spring 17 to bring the said tooth 14 in contacting engagement with the tooth 13 and to elevate the second tooth 18 on the opposite end of the escapement lever from contacting engagement with the teeth 13. The escapement lever, above the tooth 14 is formed with an outwardly directed flange 1Q.

On the hour disk 10, inward of the numerals 11 thereon, there is an outstanding pin 20 which is contacted by a leaf spring 21,-pne -l end of the said spring being'secured, as at 22- g to the hour hand 9. The spring is designed to influence the hour disk to turn the same in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3 of the drawing, the escapement lever, of course, holding the said disk from such influence.

The operation, briefly, is as follows:

The hour and minute hands are turned by the spring influenced train of gears of the time piece in the usual manner. The turning of the hour hand, of course, turns the minute disk 3, so that the figures 12 indicating minutes will be successively brought to view through the opening 7 in the face 4. When the character 59 on the minute disk is brought to view through the said opening, the minute hand 2 is in a position to contact with the flange 19 on the escapement lever, and just as the character 0, or the space between the numerals 1 and 59 on the disk 3 are brought opposite the opening, the hand 2 will have ridden beneath the flange to swing the escapement lever against the infiuence of the spring 17, causing the tooth 18 on the said lever to engage with the tooth 13 next to that previously engaged by the tooth 14 of the escapement lever. Immediately after the hand 2 passes out of contacting engagement with the fiange 19, the spring 17 will swing the escapement lever to initial position, that is to bring the tooth 14 thereof against the periphery of the hour disk 10, so that the tooth 18 is raised from non-obstructing position, and the spring 21 contacting the stud 20 will turn the freely mounted hour disk 1() a distance to bring the next succeeding tooth 13 into contact with the tooth 14 of the escapement lever, vand consequently bring the next numeral on the disk opposite the opening 7.

With my improvement, it will be noted that the time of day may be readily observed on -a time piece without noting the position of the hour and minute hands with respect to the hour and minute characters on the face thereof. The improvement may, with slight alterations in the face of a time piece, be readily applied to any construction of such instruments, it being, of course, understood .that the minute hand 2 is not necessarily integrally formed with the minute dial 3, but may be secured thereto if desired, and while I have herein set forth a satisfactory embodiment of m invention as it now appears to me, I desire it understood that I am not to be restricted to the precise details of construction herein set forth, and that I may make such changes therefrom as fall within the scope of what I claim without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described the invention, I claim 1. In combination with a case having a 'train of spring influenced gears and an hour and a minute hand driven thereby; of a disk fixed to the minute hand, a second disk loose on the shaft of the hour hand, spring means between said disk and hour hand for turning the former, means holding said disk from such turning and releasable by contacting engagement with the minute hand, and means limiting the turning of said disk when so released. I

2. In combination with a trainof spring influenced gears and having an hour and a minute hand driventhereby; of a disk fixed to the minute hand, and having numerals thereon corresponding to the number of minutes in an hour, a second disk loose on the shaft of the hour hand to the rear of the first mentioned disk and having numerals thereon circumferentially arranged `and indicating hours from l to 12, and said numerals being arranged beyond the periphery of the first mentioned disk, spring means between the hour hand and the last mentioned disk for turning the latter, means engaging the disk for holding the same from turning, said means being releasable by contact of the minute hand therewith, and means limiting the turning of the disk when so released.

The combination with a train of spring influenced gears and a minute hand and an hour hand driven thereby, of a disk fixed to the minute hand and having numerals thereon corresponding to the number of minutes in an hour, a second and larger disk freely mouted on the shaft of the hour hand to the rear of the first mentioned disk, said second disk having circulnferentially arranged spaced characters indicating hours from 1 to 12, spring means between the hour hand and the last mentioned disk for turning the latter, teeth on the periphery of the last mentioned disk disposed in a line radially with respect to the characters thereon, an escapement lever pivoted above said disk, spring influenced whereby one of the teeth thereof will engage one of the teeth of the disk, said lever, above its engaging tooth having a flange in the path of engagement with the minute hand, all as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with a case having a train of spring inuenced gears and an hour vand a. minute hand driven thereby; of s. disk fixed to the minute hand, ssecond disk loose on the shaft of the hour hand, spring means between said disk and hour hand for turning l the former, `means hold' said, disk from such turning and releasab e by lcontact' engagement with the minute hand,

means limiting the turning of said disk when so released, a :Esce plate for thev casing having a si ht o n' therethrou h for the numeralsgon thleedilsll and havingnannular transparent ortion throu h whichthe hour and minute ands are visi le.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

' LUTHER P. CREASY. 

